Poulsbo man found dead on Lopez Island shore

Published 10:00 pm, Sunday, June 8, 2003

Residents on the southeast shore of Lopez Island called for help early yesterday morning after spotting a vessel aground and a body on the beach.

San Juan County sheriff's deputies "found a 34-foot Columbia sloop sailboat hard on the rocks and 68-year-old Thomas Stroup lying on the beach," according to Sheriff Bill Cumming. Stroup of Poulsbo was pronounced dead at the scene.

While the cause of death will be determined by an autopsy, Cumming said it appears that Stroup was trying to free his boat from the rocks when he fell into the water. Stroup's family told investigators that he had just begun a weeklong solo sail through the San Juans and the Gulf Islands.